City-based researchers have identified potential blood-based biomarkers to predict disease progression and survival times in those with late-stage brain tumours.
The scientists, from Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering (BSSE) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Mazumdar Shaw Centre for Translational Research and Mazumdar Shaw Medical Foundation, analysed tumour and blood samples from individuals with gliomas. These are tumours that occur in the brain. Their objective was to identify surface proteins on immune cells in the blood whose levels were closely linked to tumour progression.
The team collected blood and tumour samples from patients with late-stage tumours such as grade three and grade four gliomas, and compared the numbers of specific immune cells called monocytes and neutrophils in these samples. Late-stage tumours have poor prognosis because they are harder to treat.
Jayashree V Raghavan, PhD student at BSSE and first author of the study explained that the team looked for differences in the composition of surface proteins on these cells across the two grades of tumours.
They found that a certain type of monocytes — the M2 monocytes — were present in larger numbers in the samples from grade four tumours. Previous studies have shown that high numbers of M2 monocytes are associated with a suppression of immune responses, and this finding could therefore help develop new treatment strategies.
The researchers also found that levels of two surface proteins (CD86 and CD63) on the immune cells, neutrophils and monocytes, were closely related in both blood and tumour samples. The appearance of high levels of these biomarkers on immune cells has previously been associated with low chances of survival.
“Our pilot study suggests that we can potentially use two [these] blood-based biomarkers present on immune cells to identify patients who might not perform well with particular treatment strategies,” said Assistant Professor Dr Siddharth Jhunjhunwala of BSSE, and senior author of the study.
He added that such a blood-based testing methodology could help clinicians better understand disease progression and choose a more effective treatment regimen.
Conventional cancer treatments like chemotherapy are often ineffective in treating these tumours. This has prompted a shift to newer techniques like immunotherapy, which involves provoking our own immune system to attack the tumour cells.
Jhunjhunwala cautioned, however, that further testing and validation on a larger scale is required before this can be taken from the lab to the clinic. “We would like to expand our cohort and test [for] only these two markers now, in individuals with stage three and stage four brain tumours, and follow their survival times.”
This study was published in OncoImmunology.
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